Sheep, Goats Manage Rangeland
Weeds in Multi-Species Systems

Adding livestock like sheep and goats to
rangeland can help ranchers manage noxious
weeds and reduce the fuel that can prompt
out-of-control Western fires, two crucial
goals that were the focus of a SARE professional
development project based in Washington.
Project leader Don Nelson introduced new
grazing concepts, from holistic management
to multi-species grazing, to some 30 agricultural
professionals and ranchers from Washington,
Idaho, Oregon, and California. His series
of workshops resulted in at least five new
range enterprises featuring diverse herds
and flocks to control unwanted vegetation. “Most ‘noxious’ weeds
are not the problem—they’re a
symptom of how the land has been managed,” Nelson
said. Cattle like to graze on grass, but
sheep also dine on forbs and goats prefer
woody “browse” material. “If
you know these preferences, you can inventory
a site and create a future landscape using
them as tools,” he said.

Introducing new livestock species provides
a lower cost, potentially more effective
strategy than spraying herbicides, he said.
Another benefit is the market potential,
as goat meat is a staple of some segments
of America’s culturally diverse population.
After the training, one of the participants
teamed up with a nearby rancher to introduce
sheep and goats to reduce knapweed and potentially
hazardous undergrowth on a property in Dallesport,
Wash. Marty Hudson, coordinator of a Washington
weed control board, contracted with rancher
Max Fernandez to run sheep, lambs, and goats
on property designated as an industrial park.
Grazing about 20 acres per day, the flocks
cleaned about 600 acres. To manage the site,
which is sandy and exposed to wind, Hudson
used the land monitoring system he learned
in Nelson’s training to not overgraze
the property.

Other SARE projects have evolved from the
professional development workshops, including
grazing goats in a tree plantation to reduce
unwanted “understory” vegetation
in Clearwater County, Idaho; and introducing
goats and sheep to slow the invasive Russian
Olive tree on a West Richland, Wash., ranch.

Some of the goat producers with whom Nelson
has worked have found new markets through
California wholesalers. “There’s
an untapped market potential,” Nelson
said.